Electric razor safety strap



Nov. 29, 1960 E. L. SPANGLER, JR

ELECTRIC RAZOR SAFETY STRAP Filed June 25, 1956 United States Patent ELECTRIC RAZOR SAFETY STRAP Edwin L. Spangler, Jr., 538 Guaranty Bank-Bldg Denver '2, C010.

Filed June 25, 19 56, Ser.No. 593,413

2 Claims. (Cl. 224-28) This invention relates to safety straps; and more particularly to safety straps for use with electric razors and the like.

A great number of men of shaving age have begun using an electric razor in preference to straight razors and safety razors because of their speed and convenience. The great majority of these users of electric razors continue to shave in the bathroom, however, as was their custom before the advent of the electric razor. Theaplug is customarily inserted into a wall plug located in a light above the medicine cabinet or alongside thereof, so that the shaver can see himself in the mirror. For convenience, the wash basin is located directly beneath the mirror in the medicine cabinet in most bathrooms, which places the shaver above the basin while shaving. It is not at all uncommon to find the razor cord hooked beneath one of the faucets of the wash basin as it dangles between the wall plug and razor. If and when this happens, one step backward or merely standing erect will cause the razor to be pulled from the hand and sent crashing into the wash basin. A costly repair bill is the result along with the inconvenience of waiting until the razor is repaired.

Obviously, many other conditions can contribute to dropping and breaking an electric razor; however, the foregoing circumstances certainly result in many of them being dropped. Regardless of how the razor is dropped and broken, the repairs are expensive, and the same money could buy a lot of razor blades and shaving cream.

Therefore, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a safety strap for use with electric razors which substantially eliminates the ever-present danger that they may be dropped and broken.

A second object of the invention is to provide a safety strap for electric razors and the like which is extremely simple and inexpensive.

Another object is to provide a safety strap which can be used with any of the conventional electric razor designs without any modification thereof being necessary.

A further object is to provide an electric razor safety strap which can be readily attached and detached from the razor or left permanently in place.

An additional object is to furnish means by which an electric razor or the like may be hung out of the way when not in use.

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed out specifically hereinafter in connection with the description of the drawing which follows, and in which:

Figure 1 is an end view, partly in section, showing the safety strap of the present invention attached to an electric razor or the like;

Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the manner in which the safety strap is connected within the plug socket of the electric razor or the like;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the safety strap to a slightly enlarged scale; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevation thereof.

.cannot come loose even though a considerable force is Referring now to thedrawing, reference numeral -10 indicates the safety strap of the present invention in a general way and it will be seen tocompr-ise a wrist loop 12 terminating in a flattened portion 14 sized to beinserted within the plug socket 116 of an electric razor or. the like 18. The wrist loop 12 is sized to receive the wrist (not shown) of the person using the shaver and is large enough to pass over the'hand. Flattened portion 1 4 of the safety strap is of a length sufiicient to reach into the plug socket 16 along one side 20 thereof, -shown in Figure 2, and across at least a portion of the bottom 22. The thickness of the flattened portion is such-that .it can be fitted into-the plug socket as shownin Figure 2 without interfering with the'insertion ofplug 24 therein.

:The great majority of electric razors in use today utilize the same type and size of plug. Thesezplugs usually have two prong-receiving openings 26 in-their inner ends adapted to receive prongs 28 within the plug socket. The plugs usually have a fairly tight fit within the plug socket. p

In Figure 3 it will be seen that the flattened portion .14 of the safety strap is provided withtwoopenings50sized andsposit-ioned ;"to receive the prongs- 28 within the ;plug socket when inserted therein as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The flattened portion extends across the bottom 22 of the plug socket where the prongs pass outwardly through the openings therein and thence outwardly along one side 20 of the socket. The plug 24 is inserted within the plug socket in the usual manner to effect an electrical connection with prongs 28. It will be apparent from an examination of Figures 1 and 2 that the plug serves to securely fasten the flattened portion of the safety strap within the plug socket. The prongs passing through the openings in the flattened portion prevent withdrawal thereof from the plug socket as long as the plug is connected therein.

The safety strap of the present invention is preferably formed from a moldable plastic such as polyethylene or the like which has the desirable property of being flexible enough to permit the right angle bend to be formed therein within the plug socket and is also somewhat oily which aids in the insertion of the plug along the flattened portion. If the safety strap is formed from a moldable plastic substance, the flattened portion and wrist loop can, of course, be formed integral with one another during the molding operation. The plug will generally have to be forced into the plug socket with the flattened portion in place as shown in Figures 1 and 2; however, the plugs are usually made of rubber which will compress slightly. Also, the fact that both the plug and flattened portion of the safety strap are squeezed into the plug socket insures a tight frictional fit therebetween which exterted on the razor and safety strap tending to separate them as could arise if the razor is dropped from the hand or pulled forcibly out of the hand. The thickness of the flattened portion is such that it will not interfere with proper electrical contact between the prongs and plug. Of course, at least the flattened portion of the safety strap must be made from a non-conducting substance as it is in direct electrical contact with the plug and prongs. Polyethylene is a good insulating material and, therefore, satisfies this requirement.

The overall size of the safety strap must be such that the razor can be held in the hand in normal shaving position while the wrist loop encircles the wrist. If the razor should be accidentally pulled or dropped from the hand, the safety strap will prevent injury to the razor as it will merely swing downwardly beneath the Wrist.

The preferred embodiment of the safety strap of the present invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing; however, it will be apparent that the flattened portion could be sized and adapted to fit on only one prong rather than two and this change would be necessary in those plug socket constructions which only provide a single prong. Although the safety strap has been illustrated and described specifically in connection with an electric razor, it will be obvious that the same principle can be applied without invention tomany small hand-held electrical devices such as vibrators, small drills, etc. Also, by merely enlarging the loop 12 of the safety strap, it can be fitted around the neck rather than the wrist.

' From the foregoing description of the novel safety strap of the present invention it will be seen that the many useful objects for which it was designed have been achieved. The inventor realizes that several modifications in the safety strap described herein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention and hence, it ishis intention that the protection afforded herein shall be limited only insofar as said limitations are expressly set forth in the appended claims; and, therefore, I claim:

1. In combination: a hand-held electrical appliance including a socket and at least one electrical contact within the socket, a plug sized to fit within the socket containing an opening positioned to receive each contact, and a flexible electrical insulating material formed to provide a loop and a flattened portion having at least one opening therein depending from the loop, the flattened portion being sized to fit within the socket with the contact extending through the'opening, the plug cooperating with the socket to hold the flattened portion therein, and the loop forming means for hanging the appliance from the body.

2. In a hand-held electrical appliance of the class having a socket adapted to detachably receive a plug, the combination with said appliance of a safety strap of a flexible electrical insulating material formed to provide a loop and a flattened portion depending from the loop, the loop being sized to receive and hang from a portion of the users body, and the flattened portion being of a width sufficient to be received within the socket and of a thickness suflicient to be received between the plug and appliance in frictional engagement therewith when such plug is inserted into the socket.

References Cited in the file oi this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,475,444 Mayberry Nov. 27, 1923 2,617,143 Blake Nov. 11, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 230,763 Switzerland Dec. 1, 1944 255,513 Switzerland Jan. 17, 1949 

